Daily Dose of Common Sense

An Illinois woman has just been convicted of reckless homicide because she was painting her nails while driving, during which she hit and killed a motorcyclist. I’m all for multi-tasking, but who would think it’s a good idea to disable your hands while trying to drive? Like the prosecutor said, “It is not the same as biting a sandwich … it’s a voluntary disablement. She might as well have been in the back seat making a sandwich.”

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[Via the fine folks at Pat's Papers.]

As the weather turns warmer, kids start breaking out bathing suits. And, sadly, this means a lot of kids will drown. In fact, drowning is the second-leading cause of injury-related death in the U.S., and 3/4 of all drownings take place between May and September. It stands to reason, then, that teaching kids to swim is an important safety skill.

However, parents might also be tempted to rely on water wings or floaties for the safety of their water-loving tots. It may seem like a good way to keep kids above the water, but this plan of action is not recommended:

Do not use air-filled or foam toys, such as “water wings”, “noodles”, or inner-tubes, in place of life jackets (personal flotation devices). These toys are not designed to keep swimmers safe.

Many experts believe flotation devices have no place in helping a child learn to swim and should be used sparingly, if at all. Most importantly, these should not replace close and constant parental supervision. Children need to experience their own weight in the pool (while being held or closely supervised by an adult) in order to feel the buoyancy of the water. Always having a floatie or water wings on gives kids a false sense of security: they think they can swim when they really cannot. One of the best floatation device policies we’ve seen, complete with explanation, can be found here.

On separate occasions, I have witnessed two children, recently removed from toy flotation devices, jump into the pool and then flounder underwater. The kids forgot they didn’t have their water wings on and could not swim back up to the surface. Both episodes ended happily, with caregivers nearby pulling the children to safety.

Teach your kids to swim safely. And stay nearby. Even if they know how to swim, they could still get in trouble and need help.

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Last month, a German teacher jumped in the polar bear exhibit at the Berlin Zoo and took a swim. The result? Polar bear attack.

This episode continues a bizarre pattern in recent years of inappropriate behavior at zoos. People seem to have forgotten that these are WILD animals. Last November, a student was bitten by a panda bear in China because he was attempting to hug the animal. In 2007, a 15-year old boy jumped into the panda exhibit in the Beijing Zoo, only to have the bear bite him severely on both legs.

Obviously, no one is glad that these people were injured. But some folks have clearly forgotten that polar bears and panda bears, while cute, are still BEARS.

It’s sad that zoos need to not only think about keeping the wild animals in but also the crazy zoo visitors OUT.

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Would you give up a finger to save your iPad? No, me neither. A man in Denver lost most of one finger because he tried to thwart the theft of his new iPad.

Jordan, 59, said he’d just purchased Apple’s latest must-have item and was near the parking garage when the robber struck.

Jordan had the bag containing the iPad wrapped around his left hand and was “holding on tight,” he told police.

The robber jerked so hard that it stripped the skin on part of Jordan’s pinky down to the bone. Most of the finger had to be amputated.

Here’s how I see it: iPad = replaceable (eventually). Finger = not replaceable (generally). No brainer, in my opinion.

This is similar to a purse snatching, where the advice is always to give the robber what they want. Your life, limbs, or digits aren’t worth losing over whatever is in inside.

[Via the fine folks at Pat's Papers]

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I’m a big fan of going to baseball games. There’s nothing quite like sitting in the warm summer air with a hot dog and some Cracker Jack. Oh, and watching the game, of course. Imagine a dad’s horror when, during a family outing with his daughters to a Philly’s game this week, they were purposely barfed on.

Yes, barfed on. An unruly fan, Matthew Clemmens of South Jersey, put his fingers down his throat and threw up all over the man’s daughter. This was after Clemmens and his friend had been spitting at the girls.

The revolting display followed several innings’ worth of slurred curses, spilled beer and spit that Clemmens and another man directed at Vangelo, his two daughters and one of their friends, said Philadelphia police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore.

Is this what our country has become? Where we’re spitting and vomiting on each other for laughs?

Then, the barfer had the nerve to physically attack the dad, who is a cop. Unbelievably, the dad didn’t fight back because he didn’t want to get arrested or detained anywhere away from his kids. This, of course, is the right, responsible thing to do, but I can’t say I would have been able to restrain myself. If anyone deserves a serious beat-down, it’s someone who spits and barfs on other people.

[Via the fine folks at Pat's Papers]

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The Consumerist has a funny tale of someone who tested an iPad at Best Buy, checked his email, and walked away while still logged in to his mail account. Lucky for him, the next person was a good samaritan and, instead of causing havoc, just logged out for the unknown person.

The good samaritan sent a pretty funny email to the person, and cc:d The Consumerist:

You decided to try out an iPad at your local best buy. But guess what? You logged into the mail app on a publicly used test product and didn’t log out?!?!?!?

This time a good citizen has decided to alert you of your mistake. I will also be kind and log you out Be aware and use some common sense the next time.

If you have the opportunity to test a wireless device in a store, go ahead and check your email. Just remember to LOG OUT when you’re done. That is, unless, for some reason, you want strangers reading your email, having access to your personal information and contacts.

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According to the Huffington Post, this is a collection of the most absurd warning labels of all time. Included in the slideshow are gems like this one:

Drunk, pregnant, or BOTH?! If you’re both, your spouse really better hope you read the third warning. Anyway, enjoy the slideshow.

Driving around, I see lots of houses with holiday lights still up outside. No, the lights aren’t turned on. But, the strands still frame the house with post-post-post holiday cheer.

Is this an example of marvelous efficiency or incredibly laziness?

Putting up holiday lights is no easy feat. The ladder, the reaching, the attaching, untangling, replacing bulbs…what a mess. Wouldn’t it be great to decorate the outside of your house only once every couple of years? All you would need to do in December is plug ‘em in and enjoy your previous handiwork.

Some people think it’s tacky to leave your lights up all year. Well, maybe next year, they will come and decorate your house for you.

Actually, one news report I found did claim it was unsafe to leave them up:

Remember, these lights are only intended for temporary use, no more than 90 days at a time, In some places, leaving temporary holiday lights up for longer violates electrical codes. In Florida, exposure to our strong sunlight can alter the plastic in lights over time, causing potentially dangerous deterioration. A guide rule of thumb is to make sure your lights are down and packed away by January 15th.

I guess in the interest of not starting a December house fire the next time you plug them in, it’s wise to take them down. Bah, humbug.

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We shouldn’t speed, drive drunk, or be aggressive/reckless behind the road. We know it, but sometimes it helps to be reminded--especially in a clever way. Australia has decided to use some off-beat humor in a viral campaign to get a safe driving message across to younger drivers. The tag line: “Don’t be a dickhead.” I must admit that some of these are amusing. You would almost think they’re Saturday Night Live skits.

The ads discuss the possible--yet completely crazy--consequences of unsafe driving. These include: red-headed angels will get their wings, you will live the rest of your life with a giant pole coming out of your stomach, Twitter and Facebook will be turned off, and more.

And…wait for it…my favorite:

It’s great to see a company (in this case, the Victoria, Australia government) doing something out of the ordinary to reach a new audience. Think of how great it would be if someone would roll out the “Don’t litter or you’re a douche bag” campaign. It would make you think twice about littering, wouldn’t it?

All of the ads can be seen here.

[Via AdFreak]

A drunk man in Pennsylvania tried to resuscitate a dead opossum. Yes, the man was seen giving mouth-to-mouth to roadkill.

It is hard to believe that this needs to be said, but here are three quick rules.

First, don’t try to revive animals on the side of the road.

Second, any dead animals on the side of the road should be left alone.

Third, if you are so drunk that if you try to revive roadkill, please check yourself into rehab.

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